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When it comes to serving the more than 35 million low-income individuals who rely on Medicaid managed care, health plans continue to receive high marks for improving beneficiaries’ care, according to a new AHIP report.

Across the country, health plans are building on the strong track record of care coordination and disease management in Medicaid managed care. For example, a Milliman study found that for all of the quality and process-related measures analyzed, Medicaid health plans in Massachusetts performed better than the national average 83 percent of the time. That’s compared to only 43 percent for a program that paid providers on a fee-for-service basis.

And a report by the Public Consulting Group found that Medicaid health plans in Minnesota outperformed fee-for-service on all performance measures analyzed. The report’s takeaway: “It would appear that managed care is able to deliver stronger health outcomes, and therefore stronger potential value, than what can be expected from the FFS system.”

The latest AHIP issue brief found Medicaid health plans consistently deliver better outcomes and better value for millions of low-income beneficiaries because they understand what it takes to ensure beneficiaries get the care they need. This includes providing integrated systems of care, health education efforts, disease management programs, and access to social services, and it’s why more and more states are partnering with Medicaid health plans to improve the health and well-being of beneficiaries with complex health care needs.